In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester to answer at least three of the following questions:
What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements?
How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes?
What features can you plan into your units that might discourage the GOS?
Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
I see the Game of School playing out almost every day. Students are constantly trying to find the easiest way to get the required grade while putting in minimal effort. They don't put much intrinsic emphasis on the learning itself. One particular anecdote from my placement that comes to mind is when I was trying to help students do an outdoor ecology lab. In one group I was making suggestions to get more accurate and thorough results from their transect square, and one girl said incredulously, "Mr. White's picking on us!" Mr. Bruneau's retort (which made me feel pretty good!) was: "He's trying to get you to do your work and learn something!" Nice
The best way to fight the GOS in classes is to make your material interesting. Teach it in ways that keep them engaged. One of the most important things, I think, is to make the material interesting for YOU, the teacher. It's hard to convey excitement about something day after day if you aren't truly excited! And students are very perceptive; they'll know if you aren't engaged in the material either. the best way to engage students is to be engaged yourself. Good point.
Units should not just be chalk-and-talk. Although some note-taking is important in the higher grades as a baseline for learning content and developing skills that students going to college will need, the part that is going to make it all alive and relevant will be what happens when students are NOT taking notes. Excellent visuals, objects that show the content in action, group work that gets students up and outside their comfort zones, activities that blow students minds... these things will be the stuff of a great unit. If these types of things are incorporated, school won't be a game. Students will learn because they can't help but want to. Personally, I think you should abandon the idea that Ss must take notes to prepare for college because the two learning environments are entirely different. Students learn by having experiences, connecting those experiences to concepts (often through interactive discussions with classmates and teachers), and then applying those concepts in an authentic, creative way.
The most important thing I'm taking away from the GOS discussion is the need for a teacher to be engaged in what their teaching - to find it intrinsically exciting themselves. The GOS isn't just a game students play - it's a game teachers can find themselves playing too if they're not careful. The experience should be just as worthwhile to the teacher as it is to the student if not more so. Finding ways to keep yourself engaged are first priority. If this is done right, the excitement you feel should be infectious enough to pass to most of your students.
least three of the following questions:
I see the Game of School playing out almost every day. Students are constantly trying to find the easiest way to get the required grade while putting in minimal effort. They don't put much intrinsic emphasis on the learning itself. One particular anecdote from my placement that comes to mind is when I was trying to help students do an outdoor ecology lab. In one group I was making suggestions to get more accurate and thorough results from their transect square, and one girl said incredulously, "Mr. White's picking on us!" Mr. Bruneau's retort (which made me feel pretty good!) was: "He's trying to get you to do your work and learn something!" Nice
The best way to fight the GOS in classes is to make your material interesting. Teach it in ways that keep them engaged. One of the most important things, I think, is to make the material interesting for YOU, the teacher. It's hard to convey excitement about something day after day if you aren't truly excited! And students are very perceptive; they'll know if you aren't engaged in the material either. the best way to engage students is to be engaged yourself. Good point.
Units should not just be chalk-and-talk. Although some note-taking is important in the higher grades as a baseline for learning content and developing skills that students going to college will need, the part that is going to make it all alive and relevant will be what happens when students are NOT taking notes. Excellent visuals, objects that show the content in action, group work that gets students up and outside their comfort zones, activities that blow students minds... these things will be the stuff of a great unit. If these types of things are incorporated, school won't be a game. Students will learn because they can't help but want to.
Personally, I think you should abandon the idea that Ss must take notes to prepare for college because the two learning environments are entirely different. Students learn by having experiences, connecting those experiences to concepts (often through interactive discussions with classmates and teachers), and then applying those concepts in an authentic, creative way.
The most important thing I'm taking away from the GOS discussion is the need for a teacher to be engaged in what their teaching - to find it intrinsically exciting themselves. The GOS isn't just a game students play - it's a game teachers can find themselves playing too if they're not careful. The experience should be just as worthwhile to the teacher as it is to the student if not more so. Finding ways to keep yourself engaged are first priority. If this is done right, the excitement you feel should be infectious enough to pass to most of your students.
Well put!